Auxiliary device for star-steaming



July 1,1969 J. VAN DER VEEN 3,452,942

AUXILIARY DEVICE FOR STAR-STEAMING Filed April 4, 19 66 Sheet of 4 FIG.1

y 1969 A. J. VAN DER VEEN 3,452,942

AUXILIARY DEVICE FOR STAR-STEAMING Sheet Filed April 4, 1966 FIG.2

July 1, 1969 A. J. VAN DER VEEN 3,452,942

. AUXILIARY DEVICE FOR STAR-STEAMING Filed April 4, 1966 Sheet 3 of 4 July 1, 1969 A. J. VAN DER V'IEEN 3,

AUXILIARY DEVICE FOR STAR-STEAMTNG Filed April 4, 1966 Sheet 4 of 4 FIG.4

United States Patent US. Cl. 24255 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to a cooperating auxiliary device for loading a star steaming device, said star steaming device having a rotatably mounted support having a number of radially extended arms which are provided with regularly spaced hooks at their lower sides, means for hanging a width of a coarse fabric carrier spirally on said spaced hooks and means for feeding a textile width to be treated between the turns .of said carrier, said auxiliary device comprising a straight-edge crossing the axis of said support under a sharp angle, means to position the upper end of one edge of said straight-edge be tween said regularly spaced hooks on said star steaming device, mechanical means to feed said width of a coarse fabric carrier and said textile width to be treated to said straight-edge and means cooperating with said rotatably mounted support on said star steaming device to displace said straight-edge in a radial direction with respect to said rotatably mounted support.

The method for the steaming of textile widths is known, wherein a width of coarse fabric, the carrier, is hung up spirally on a support having radially extended arms, which are provided with hooks at their lower sides, and'a textile width to be treated is fed between the turns of the carrier, after which the support is placed in a pressure vessel and is treated with steam. This treatment, which is usually employed for the fixation of coloring agents, is referred to as star steaming.

The fastening of the carrier to the support is done by hand. It makes exhausting work, because the man who hangs the carrier on the hooks, while doing so is standing under the arms of the rotatably mounted support and has to lift the carrier to fasten its upper rim to the hooks. Simultaneously, a second man feeds the material to be treated between the turns of the carrier.

It is of importance that, during the steam treatment, the material to be treated should hang between the turns of the carrier quite free from tension and this requires a long experience in the personnel. This fact and the considerable exertion the work demands, make it difiicult to find the personnel for this job. In addition to this it is a time-consuming work, so that steam treatment is by no means an unimportant factor in the cost price of the final product.

It is an object of the present invention to improve this situation by providing an auxiliary device, by which a large part of the labor costs may be saved and the difiiculties in finding personnel for this work are removed.

This has been realized by providing the auxiliary device according to the invention with a straight-edge which crosses the axis of the support under a sharp angle and one edge of which has its upper end positioned between the hooks of the support and is movable in radial direction with respect to the support.

Owing to the oblique position of the straight-edge the carrier can be guided obliquely upwards towards the straight-edge, without its being hampered by the hooks and after it has been guided about the edge of the straightedge, it can be caught by the hooks in horizontal direction and carried away.

In order to be able to use the device for the conventional support, in which the hooks of the various arms have corresponding distances towards the axis of rotation of the support, the device according to the present invention is further characterized by a mechanism for the periodical displacement of the edge of the straight-edge over a distance, which corresponds to the distance between two consecutive hooks of the same arm of the support. In this manner it is achieved that each time after the carrier has been hung up on a circle of hooks positioned at a certain distance from the axis of the support, the straight-edge shifts in order to hang the carrier on the next circle of hooks.

It is important for a smooth operation of the device that the shifting of the straight-edge should take place between the passage of two books of consecutive arms of the support. In order to avoid the occurrence of impermissibly great inertia resistances in these necessarily fast periodical displacements, the device is further equipped with a movable frame, onto which the straight-edge is movably mounted, a mechanism for the continuous displacement of the said frame and a mechanism which can make the straight-edge go through movements with respect to the frame which are alternately equal but opposite to the displacement of the frame or rapid and retrogressive.

In a device of such construction for the rapid displacement of the straight-edge only the mass of the straightedge need be taken into account, whilst the adaptation to the slowly increasing winding diameter of the carrier, implying the displacement of the roll retaining the portion of the carrier which is still to be hung, proceeds continuously.

Preferably, the mechanism for the movement of the straight-edge and the one for the movement of the frame are derived directly from the rotation of the support, to prevent the occurrence of phase shifts which might bring the hooks into contact with the straight-edge.

To achieve this, a transmission ratio may be chosen which is such that onto each circle of hooks one or more turns of the carrier can be hung as required.

According to the invention, the width of textile which is to be treated is conveyed towards the carrier by a roller, positioned near to the straight-edge and parallel to the axis of the support. The said roller is preferably carried by the movable frame and thus accompanies the slow average displacement of the straight-edge.

After having passed the roller, the textile width is carried along by the surface roughness of the carrier in a known manner.

As stated above, it is important with a view to the prevention of deformations in the textile width, that the latter should be positioned between the turns of the carrier so as to be free from tension. This is indeed realized with the device according to the invention, owing to the roller being driven by a pair of cylinders, which is passed by the carrier on its way to the support, the transmission ratio having been chosen in such a way that the peripheral velocity of the roller is equal to or just a little in excess of the velocity of the carrier.

The invention is further elucidated with reference to an embodiment of the auxiliary device as represented in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view,

FIG. 1A is a detail of arm 2 of FIG. 1 and FIG. 1B a cross-section thereof,

FIG. 2 is a side view,

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the auxiliary device,

FIG. 4 is the mechanism for the movement of the straight-edge, and

FIG. 5 is the upper end of the straight-edge of an enlarged scale.

The support 1, having eight arms 2, the lower sides of the said arms being provided with hooks 58 (FIG. 1A) at regular intervals, is rotatably supported in the usual manner on the carriage 3, which with its wheels 4 can be moved along the rails 5. In the position represented, the carriage 3 can be fixed by means not further indicated in the drawing. The ends of the hooks 58 on arm 2 point outwards and have an upward inclination as well as an inclination in the direction of rotation, which is indicated by arrow 59 (FIG. 1A).

The motor 7 and the reduction gear 8 are mounted over the support 1 on the portal 6. The gear 8 is connected with the support 1 by means of the conical clutch 9, which is pressed against a corresponding conical part of the support 1 by the spring 10. The co-operation between the clutch 9 and the support 1 can be interrupted by means of the lever 11 and the cable 12, which is connected to an operating element not shown in detail.

The carriage 13, which with its wheels 14, 15 and 16 can run on the rails 17, 18 and 19, is provided with the superstructure 20, in which the Width of jute 21 which is wound on a roll has been suspended so as to be rotatable. The rails show a slight inclination, corresponding to the oblique position of the arms 2 of the support 1. The superstructure at the same time accommodates the shaft 22, to which the straight-edge 23 and the arm 24 are fixed. The straight-edge 23 is supported by shaft 22 which, in turn, is connected to superstructure 20 by bearings 22. At its lower end, shaft 22 is provided with arm 24.

The carriage 13 can be moved by means of the screw spindle 25, on which is provided a nut 26 which is connected with the carriage 13, and which can be driven by the support 1 by way of the gear wheel 27 which is connected to the support 1, the gear wheel 28 which is engaged with the wheel 27, the reduction gear 29 and the chain transmission 30. This mechanism is constructed in such a way that, when the support 1 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow 31 in FIG. 3, the carriage 13 moves to the right in FIG. 1.

At the same time there is provided near the nut 26 a mechanism 32, by which it is possible to give the straightedge 23 periodically a slow movement opposite to the displacement of the carriage 13, and a rapid retrograde movement. The said mechanism is represented in detail in FIG. 4.

This last figure shows the screw spindle 25, in which the spline 33 has been incorporated, and the nut 26 which is fixed to the frame of the carriage 13. On the screw spindle is provided a sleeve 35, which has a smooth bore and a key interlocking with the spline 33 and which is enclosed between the nut 26 and the plate 34. The lever 38 with the rollers 39 and 40 at its extremities is supported on the cam 36 of the sleeve by means of the pin 37. Between the lever 38 and the sleeve 35 is placed the pressure spring 41.

On the nut 26 there is mounted the freely rotatable ring 42, to which the cable 45 is connected via the pin 43 and the connecting link 44. The ring 42 is further provided with the cam 46, with which the roller of the lever 38 can co-operate. A cam 47 which is fixedly mounted on the carriage 13 co-operates with the roller 39.

When the screw spindle 25 is rotated, the sleeve 35 rotates along with it. Thereby the roller 39 gets clear from the cam 47, the lever 38 is tipped by the spring 41 and the roller 40 engages with the cam 46 of the ring 42. This causes the ring 42 to rotate along with the sleeve 35, and the cable is wound onto the ring 42.

The cable 45 runs from mechanism 32, to which its one end is connected, over the pulley 48 along the longitudinal beam of carriage 13 and over the pulley 49 (FIG. 1) to 4 the end 24 (FIG. 2) of arm 24, to which its other end is connected, causing the straight-edge 23 to carry out a hinging movement, which is opposite to the displacement of the carriage 13, the result being that the foremost edge of the straight-edge 23 is not displaced with respect to the support 1.

When the screw spindle 25 has nearly completed an entire revolution, the roller 39 comes into contact with the cam 47, the lever 38 is tipped against the action of the spring 41 and the contact of the roller 40 with the cam 46 is undone. Hereby the ring 42 and, therefore, also the cable 45, are released, so that the arm 24 and the straightedge 23 suddenly move back to their starting positions under the influence of a spring not shown in the drawing. The foremost edge of the straight-edge meanwhile shifts over a distance which is equal to the mutual distance of two consecutive hooks of an arm 2.

On the carriage 13 there is mounted the support 57 for the width of textile 50 which is to be treated, and which is wound on a roll. A roller 51, which is rotatably supported at its lower end by the superstructure 20 and at its upper end by an only partly shown extension 52 of the superstructure 20 of the carriage 13, is positioned vertically for guiding the textile width 50. One of a pair of rollers 53 mounted on the superstructure 20 is connected with the roller 51 by a string transmission 54.

The operation of the device is as follows:

When the support 1 on the carriage 13 has been placed in the device, the clutch 9 is pressed onto the support 1 by releasing the cable 12. The carriage 13 is taking up a position which is such that the upper end of the straightedge 23 is situated between the first and second circles of hooks of the support 1.

The width of jute is laid by hand between the pair of rollers 53 and about the foremost edge of the srtaightedge 23 and is fastened by its upper rim to the first hook of one of the arms 2. After this, the support is turned a little farther than one revolution. This can be effected by hand or by throwing in the motor 7. Hereby the width of jute is caught by the innermost hooks of the arms 2 and carried along.

After this, the width of textile which is to be treated is guided about the roller 51 and between the two turns of the width of jute 21 hanging on the support 1 at the location of the straightedge 23. If required, the width of textile 50 can be fastened to the jute by means of a pin.

The device is then ready to hang the whole of the width of jute 21 onto the support 1 and at the same guide the width of textile 50 between the turns of the jute 21..

To this end the motor 7 is switched on, so that the support 1 starts revolving in the direction indicated by the arrow 31. The width of jute 21 is caught and carried along by the hooks of the support 1, at the location where it runs 01f from the upper end of the straight-edge 23.

The rollers 53 are brought to rotation by the passing of the width of jute 21, the said rotation being transmitted by the string transmission 54 onto the roller 51, which hereby obtains a peripheral velocity, which is just a little in excess of the velocity of the width of jute 21. In this manner, the roller 51 conveys the textile width 50 towards the support 1 with a slight excess, so that the textile arrives free from any tension between the turns of the width of jute on the support. In order to prevent the occurrence of slipping, the roller 53 as well as the roller 51 have rough surfaces.

By the rotation of the support 1, the screw spindle 25 is brought to rotation via the gear wheels 27 and 28, the gear 29 and the chain transmission 30. Hereby the carriage 13 is given a slow, continuous displacement, whcih is directed in such a way that the straight-edge 23 moves away from the support 1.

Simultaneously, the straight-edge 23 is moved by the mechanism 32, via the cable 45 and the arm 24 in the direction of the support 1, at the same velocity, at which the carriage 13 is displaced. The result is that the position of the foremost edge of the straight-edge 23 does not change with respect to the support 1 and that the upper end of the straight-edge 23 remains in its position between the same two circles of hooks.

Each time the screw spindle 25 has completed a revolution, the cable 45 is released again by the mechanism 32, causing the straight-edge 23 to shift from one circle of hooks of the support 1 to the next and consequentially resulting in the width of jute 21 being hung up onto the next circuit of hooks. This shifting may be effected each time after one, two, three or more revolutions of the support 1 as required by a corresponding adaptation of the chain transmission 30.

In order to secure that the upper rim of the width of jute 21 will continually pass along the topmost end of the straight-edge 23, the foremost edge of the straight-edge is provided at that location with a recess 55, as shown in FIG. 5. In order to secure on the other hand that the width of jute 21 will not pass along the straight-edge 23 at too high a level, the straight-edge 23 is additionally provided with a projection 56 which is situated over the recess 55.

When the hanging up of the two widths 21 and 50 onto the support 1 has been completed, the motor 7 is disconnected, the clutch 9 is pulled up and the carriage 3 is unbolted.

The carriage 3 with the support 1 is then placed in a pressure vessel for the required steam treatment. After this treatment, the carriage 3 with the support 1 is replaced in the device and the support 1 is unwound until it is empty, for which purpose there is provided a driving motor, not shown in the drawing, for the roll, onto which the width of jute is to be rewound. Meanwhile the carriage 13 moves in the direction of the support 1 and has returned to its starting position when the support 1 is empty. The device is then ready for the reception onto the support 1 of the next width of textile to be treated.

I claim:

1. A cooperating auxiliary device for loading a star steaming device, said star steaming device having a rotatably mounted support having a number of radially extended arms which are provided with regularly spaced hooks at their lower sides, means for hanging a width of a coarse fabric carrier spirally on said spaced hooks and means for feeding a textile width to be treated between the turns of said carrier, said auxiliary device comprising a straight-edge crossing the axis of said support under a sharp angle, means to position the upper end of one edge of said straight-edge between said regularly spaced hooks of said star steaming device, mechanical means to feed said width of a coarse fabric carrier and said textile width to be treated to said straight-edge and means cooperating with said rotatably mounted support on said star steaming device to displace said straight-edge in a radial direction with respect to said rotatably mounted support.

2. The cooperating auxiliary device of claim 1 wherein said means cooperating with said rotatably mounted support on said star steaming device to displace said straightedge in a radial direction with respect to said rotatably mounted support is a mechanism adapted to periodically displace said straight-edge over a distance corresponding to the distance between two consecutive regularly spaced hooks.

3. The cooperating auxiliary device of claim 2 wherein said mechanism adapted to periodically displace said straight-edge is a movable frame on which said straightedge is movably mounted, means for the continuous displacement of said frame and means cooperating with said movable frame to move said straight-edge in a direction alternately (1) equal but opposite to the displacement of said frame and (2) rapid and retrogressive to the displacement of said frame.

4. The cooperating auxiliary device of claim 1 wherein said means to position said upper end of one edge of said straight-edge and said means to displace said straightedge cooperate with the rotation of said rotatably mounted support.

5. The cooperating auxiliary device of claim 1 wherein said upper end of the edge of said straight-edge is provided with a recess.

6. The cooperating auxiliary device of claim 1 wherein said mechanical means to feed said width of a coarse fabric carrier and said textile width to be treated to said straight-edge comprises a roller conveying said coarse fabric carrier and said textile width mounted in the vicinity of said straight-edge and parallel to the axis of said rotatably mounted support.

7. The cooperating auxiliary device of claim 6 wherein said roller is mounted on a frame on which said straightedge is movably mounted.

8. The cooperating auxiliary device of claim 6 wherein said roller is rotated by rotating means cooperating with the rotation of said rotatably mounted support.

9. The cooperating auxiliary device of claim 1 wherein said mechanical means to feed said Width of a coarse fabric carrier and said textile width to be treated to said straight-edge comprises a pair of rollers conveying said coarse fabric carrier, a second roller conveying said textile width, said pair of rollers being rotated by rotating means cooperating with the rotation of said rotatably mounted support and said second roller being rotated by a transmission in cooperation with said pair of rollers whereby the peripheral velocity of said textile width roller is equal to or a little in excess of the peripheral velocity of said pair of rollers.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,045,410 11/1912 Jenkins 24277.1 X 2,861,750 11/1958 Rust et al 242--77.1 X 2,985,397 5/1961 Bejeuhr 24277.1 X 3,102,700 9/1963 Lemieux 242-77.1 X

WILLIAM S. BURDEN, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

